King of Naxos and his 2400 subjects

By Michael ShmithJuly 12 2002

Klaus Heymann: "Because our CDs are so cheap, people are more willing to take risks..."
Picture: Nik Kocher

Klaus Heymann, tall with silver hair, is the unexpected giant of the
recording world. In 1987, in Hong Kong, and with, he says, nothing much to do,
he started a record company. Fifteen years, and 2400 CDs later (he quotes the
figure instantly), bargain-priced Naxos is the world's best-selling classical
label.

His approach to recording and marketing hasn't changed. The CDs still appear
with simple, but elegant packaging, and still cost about $10 each, or, as
Heymann puts it, ``about the same as the price of a coffee in some cities''. If
you prefer Cherubini to cappuccino, then Heymann's your man.

He was in Melbourne a couple of days ago to help celebrate Naxos' 15th
birthday. At a gathering of industry folk, he spoke briefly and imaginatively
about his label. ``The Chinese have a saying: `If there's no way, there's a way
around it','' he said. In Heymann's case, this was true.

In 1987, the big commercial recording companies - PolyGram, EMI, Warner -
controlled the classical market over smaller, independent labels. Prices were
rising and the repertoire was in stasis, with the umpteenth Mahler or Beethoven
cycle from the latest marketable, sensational, young maestro. Enter Heymann, who
turned this on its head by using relatively unknown musicians from Eastern
Europe, not repeating repertoire, and selling the discs for a third of the
normal price.

``I sat down with a catalogue and marked everything that had more than 10
recordings. That was our initial A&R (artists and repertoire) policy: record
the 100 most recorded things in reasonably good quality, reasonably good sound,
and make them available.'' His aim was a catalogue of 500 recordings.

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These days, Naxos is an oxymoron: an independent, multinational company,
selling millions of CDs and DVDs throughout the world. In Australia, he says,
sales are about three million CDs. The Naxos website has 600,000 hits a month.

The company's repertoire has expanded dramatically into American music, film
scores, organ repertoire and music by Australian and New Zealand composers.

Heymann still lives in Hong Kong, but, he says, is thinking of moving to
Auckland for a better quality of life. He is married to the violinist Takako
Nishizaki, who made many of Naxos' early recordings, and they have a son.

The company takes its name from Greek mythology: Naxos is the island where
Ariadne was abandoned by her lover, Theseus, after being seduced with music.
Heymann's Naxos continues to seduce millions. Did he think the label would last?

``I'm surprised it's still alive. I thought, after this time, the major
competition would have wiped us out,'' he says. ``While we're not really bigger
than the others, we sell more CDs than any other label. But the image of the
company is so good. We do almost everything right: interesting records, good
value. We advertise as the world's leading classical label and so far no one has
sued us.''

Heymann entered the recording industry with ``modest ambition'' in 1982, with
the Marco Polo label. ``That was mainly work therapy for my wife,'' he says.
``We took it one step at a time. Have a little business in south-east Asia. Then
we recorded with other ensembles, always looking over our shoulders.'' The
bigger companies were still issuing mainly full-price discs, even of their
back-catalogue repertoire. So Naxos filled a niche in the market, leaving the
conglomerates in the position of having to catch up. They regard Naxos, says
Heymann, ``with jealous respect''.

There is a risk factor, but it works in Naxos' favour: ``Because our CDs are
so cheap, people are more willing to take risks,'' Heymann says. ``Some people
collect every release. I once had lunch with a Japanese record collector. He
pulled out a piece of paper and said, `These are the ones I don't have'.''

Naxos' opera catalogue is growing steadily; even though it is the most
expensive artform to record. Heymann organises co-productions with opera
companies, so the results are not just an in-haste gathering of flown-in
singers, but more performance-based.

Heymann spends a lot of the time on the road. Naxos' main studios are in
London, but other operations are going on all over the place.

``We record in 30 countries,'' he says. ``Australia, New Zealand, Finland,
Portugal, Spain. Recording in Australia is no different from Deutsche Grammophon
recording in Germany.'' But it is expensive, he says. ``Artists, producers,
halls, are all expensive here.''

One interesting change over Naxos' history has been its lessening dependency
on the Eastern European musicians that were once its lifeblood. Now they
comprise only about 5 per cent of their recordings.

``In the East, these orchestras have to live off the recordings, whereas in
the West, orchestras come to us and say, `We need recordings to fulfil our
image', and they don't need a fee. We pay for the production, the soloists, and
everyone is happy.''

This must be a pity for Eastern musicians. ``Well, the quality of the playing
has not changed as dramatically as (in) the West,'' says Heymann. ``In the West,
you can record with a provincial orchestra and have excellent results. We record
quite a bit with the National Symphony (Washington, DC); there's not that much
between them and the New York Philharmonic. There's such a wealth of musicians
coming out of the conservatories.''

At heart, Heymann has a musical soul.

It is his life and his fortune. But the music always comes first.

In a way, he is like Josef Haydn, whose symphonies are like Naxos recordings:
one never quite the same as another; popular; and they took the form forward.
``He was the most creative of all composers. There's a surprise in almost every
bar,'' says Heymann, his eyes softening.